A Secret
by aphallies
Summary: A request for Portugal/Macau. Afonso-Portugal-is discontent with Emanuel-Macau-paying him no attention and is, honestly, bored out of his mind. He decides then to tell him a secret in order to distract him


Afonso's head lies on Emanuel's lap, his view of the ceiling blocked by Emanuel's psychology textbook. He's been in the same place for at least thirty minutes but only in the last five had Emanuel picked up his book. Already he's become bored with looking over the abstract faces on the cover. There's probably supposed to be some deeper meaning in them but he has no idea what it is, although he is entertained by the two of the authors' surnames displayed in bold letters—Assmann and Cummings. He thinks they must have purposefully teamed up out of solidarity for their unfortunate last names.

Despite the humor he finds in the authors, he has analyzed the two pages he can see far longer than he would have liked to. Knocking at the hard cover, he waits for Emanuel to acknowledge him. Emanuel closes his book, his thumb keeping his page as he looks down at Afonso. A moment of silence passes and Emanuel raises his brows expectantly. "Yes?"

"I think you should stop reading." Afonso nods. "You've done enough, and I fear you'll drop that thing on my face." He raises his hand, pointing over his shoulder at where he presumes the book to be.

Emanuel shuts his eyes and sighs. His eyes open again and he traces Afonso's face, his gaze not straying to Afonso's eyes. It's clear he's trying to avoid eye contact so Afonso reaches up and grabs his ear, making Emanuel's eyes narrow and lock on his. Smiling cheekily, Afonso nods in hopes of encouraging Emanuel to speak.

"I won't drop it. I promise." Emanuel's stare moves to Afonso's lips, again avoiding Afonso's eyes. "And I have to finish this reading." He sets his book on the arm of the couch with one hand still taken in order to keep his page. The other hand goes to Afonso's undone hair, running his fingers through it. Afonso leans in to the touch and his eyes close but not before catching Emanuel's amused smirk.

Afonso hums and says, "I say we stay just like this."

"I have to finish this reading," he reiterates. "I'll pet you when I'm done." He pauses briefly. "I didn't realize I was dating a cat." He lifts his book once more, holding it above Afonso's head. Afonso groans quietly at Emanuel's refusal, bringing his arm to rest over his eyes.

He listens silently as Emanuel turns the page. The squeak of his highlighter against the paper is dreadful so Afonso voices his displeasure in the form of a grunt. "I'm at least twenty-five percent done," Emanuel murmurs.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Afonso asks, ignoring Emanuel's statement.

"Are you just trying to be a distraction?" Emanuel refuses to set down his book and Afonso doesn't dare grab for it in case he releases it and it hits his face.

Sweetly, Afonso says, "Of course not," the sarcasm clear in his voice. "But I do have something to tell you."

Hoping that Emanuel realizes he can't win this battle, he pushes Emanuel's book to the side. He reaches out toward the coffee table, groaning at the distance. Grabbing a tissue, he flops back against Emanuel's lap and lifts the paper. Dropping it between the pages, Afonso rolls onto his chest and takes the book from his hands. Emanuel begins to object but Afonso looks up at him flatly, silencing him. He sets it down on the table and turns onto his back once more.

"So, the secret," Afonso says, trying to pique Emanuel's interests. Emotionlessly, Emanuel nods for him to continue. "Your father told me that if, by the time we got married—"

"We're not even engaged," Emanuel interjects.

Afonso gives him that but he continues, "But we will be someday, won't we?" He raises his brows.

"I'm still a college student."

"Yes, you are, but you won't always be," he says just as quickly as Emanuel had said his piece. "And I don't see how that has anything to do with it. Anyway, he said that if I can help you learn enough Portuguese that you two can have a conversation by the time we're married, he'll pay for our honeymoon. He told me not to tell you but it seems I have."

Scoffing, Emanuel's lips press together tightly as he looks away. "You know that I'm not good with languages. My dad tried to teach me as a kid but it went nowhere."

"So you've told me. It's because he just wasn't a good teacher for you." He makes it a statement of fact rather than a possibility. "And you're so stubborn, but I know how to deal with your stubborn."

"And he doesn't?"

"No, no he doesn't." Afonso pushes himself up, deeming that lying down wasn't the optimal position for their discussion.

Emanuel crosses his arms. "He's known me for far longer than you have."

He brushes that off by saying, "And that means nothing. If you don't work well together, you don't work well together. It doesn't matter how many years have passed." He crosses his arms and quirks his brows.

His mouth opens but no words come out and—after a brief floundering—Emanuel snaps it shut and shakes his head.

"He told me it'd be a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

"Exactly why I told you, and I didn't think you'd go along with it if I didn't explain."

"And what says I will now?" Emanuel asks.

Sighing, Afonso rolls his eyes. "Don't be so childish. It's a free vacation, and all you have to do is try to learn something, anything." Emanuel still does not respond, so Afonso cocks his head to the side and stares him down.

Shaking his head, Emanuel says, "Fine!" and exhales an audible breath.

"Good," Afonso smiles. "Now, won't you practice with me? I have some movies we could watch."

Emanuel's shoulders sag. "Just because you coerced me into agreeing to learn a language I know I have no chance at knowing doesn't mean my reading has gone away. Why don't you go find something to occupy yourself? I'll be done in twenty minutes and then I can entertain you." A smile crosses his face. "Promise."

Pushing himself up from the couch, Afonso mutters, "I suppose I can find _something_," in an overdramatic tone. He exits the room as Emanuel grabs his book.


End file.
